Monday, November 2, 2009

My Favorite Granola Recipe

Every time M makes this, I eat way too much of it. It's chock-full of good, healthy stuff -- just remember to wait until after the Phase 1 portion of the diet to cram this complex-carb-bomb down your throat (and to watch your portion sizes, too).



7 cups uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sliced and/or slivered almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Set the oven to bake (or convection bake) at 250°F. Mix the oats, nuts, coconut and wheat germ together in a big bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the syrup, oil, salt and vanilla, and then pour the mixture on the stuff in the other bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until they're well mixed, and then spread the stuff all onto two large rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Stick them in the oven for an hour and a half (or until the granola is lightly browned), stirring and turning the pans every half hour or so.

Take the pans out and let the granola cool completely. Afterwards, you can also mix in a few cups of dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, etc.) before storing/eating, though I actually prefer it without the fruit. This recipe -- which, incidentally, is based on one M found in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook -- makes a huge crapload of granola (which is a technical term equivalent to about 16 cups, or roughly 32 servings).

Per 1/2 cup serving: 235 cal / 13g fat / 28g carbs / 7g protein